Jesse Joins the Party

Michelle had finally convinced me to join the merry band of brothers and sisters on their southerly ride down the European continent.  But it took awhile for me to finally say "yes."

Part of my hedging my bet was a series of early rides to see what kind of shape I was in.  Spoiler alert:  Not very!  I hadn't done any serious riding this past year, spending more time on the tennis courts instead of on the road.  And, truthfully, I just wasn't feeling much like doing another long ride.

But Michelle was persistent and eventually wore me down.  That and the fact that, as I started taking the idea of potentially doing a long ride again more seriously, I was doing longer and harder training rides to get to the point where I finally felt comfortable with the idea.

It was around that time when I finally committed to doing the ride that I had a conversation with my son Jesse.  As we talked about current life and things to come, the topic of the European bike trip came up.  Jesse's first reaction was, "Wow, that sounds great Dad!  Can I come along?"

Halle, Jesse, Samantha and yours truly.

I always love doing things with my kids, whether it's a night in the City taking in the latest Shakespeare-in-the-Park play in Central Park or doing a cross-country road trip.  So my initial reaction should have been, "Yes, I'd love you to join me!" Instead, it came out more as, "Jess, I'd love you to join me in this ride, but are you prepared to ride 75+ miles each day for over three weeks? And, especially while you are running your college-prep program for foster kids all summer long?  When will you have time to train?"

The silence at the other end of the phone betrayed his answer.  But, Jesse being Jesse, he had a totally different solution to the situation that I hadn't anticipated.  "Well Dad, what are you doing for a SAG (Support and Gear) van?  Who's going to drive that?  Couldn't I join you by doing that?"  [Jesse knew about the SAG vans from all my previous cross-country rides in which there have been two vans supporting all the riders; one to carry spare equipment and all our luggage, the other to carry water, snacks, sunscreen, etc. for all our pit stops along each day's ride route.]

A typical ABB SAG van with luggage/equipment trailer.  Our BMW "SAG van" will be much smaller.

I went on to explain that, not only were we going to be riding at least 75 miles each day, we were also doing this as a self-supported ride.  In other words, we were going to be carrying our own clothes, gear, etc. We had all agreed that we'd be riding touring bikes, built heavier and usually steel-framed as opposed to our standard carbon-fiber framed road bikes.  Each touring bike comes standard with extra gearing to allow for greater maneuverability for uphill climbs and into the winds, and has a strong frame to support panniers, those saddle bags that straddle the front and back wheels of a bike.

Again, Jesse came back with a quick reply.  "Well, wouldn't you all much prefer to have someone following you with all your bags?  I'd be happy to do that."

The idea of not having to buy a touring bike and, rather, allowing us all to us our regular road bikes was way too inviting to pass up.  Equally, was the idea of having Jesse being able to join me on this summer adventure.  I shot off a quick text to my fellow riders about the idea.  In no time at all, I got all their replies.  It was unanimous.  We would rent a van and Jesse would be our support system along the ride.

Fast forward a few weeks and James, our host and initiator of this bike tour, decided it would just be easier for us to use his BMW X5 SUV instead of renting a van in the UK and dropping it off in Portugal.  Throw a couple of bike racks on top of the car and we're set.  Jesse has confirmed his driving license is valid in the UK and Europe and insurance is covered as well.

So while the riders will all be arriving in Manchester in the next couple of days and we'll be focused on re-assembling our bikes and doing some short rides around the countryside to ensure everything's in working order, Jesse will be taking driving lessons with James to ensure that he's totally up to speed, so to speak, on driving from the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road.  I told him I'm giving him a bunch of post-it notes to stick on the dashboard as reminders, while we're in England, to enter each roundabout from the left, NOT the right!

Tomorrow, Jesse and I fly out to Manchester.  In the meantime, I've got to pick up my boxed bike from the shop, get cash and run the last of a couple of errands.

More in the days to come.